Saturday, October 19, 2013

Stop!

That's right, stop!
How often do you do that? Stop the serious stuff you're up to? Like commuting?

I never used to. What stops me?

McDonalds stops lots of folks. So does Starbucks. Traffic stops most of us, likewise subway and train issues, bus delays, fuel stops. None of those count. Only voluntary stops and pauses count.

What stops me? More than any other thing, the sky stops me. First it arrests my eyes, then blows my mind, and that shifts my focus. I am drawn, I have to stop. The sky dictates the place, and my Vespa is my enabler.

Momentarily, I am distracted by necessity. Kickstand, helmet, gloves, iPhone, exposure, focus, composing, fussing, snapping. Knowing the picture doesn't have a prayer of translating what my eyes plainly see. Yet saving the moment, sharing the moment, in spite of the obvious imperfection, is a must.
So there it is. Wasted effort? Time wasted? Time well wasted. Effort well spent.

This is so much more important than... many other things.

4 comments:

SonjaM said...

David, it's different when you decide when to stop, isn't it? I stop for a nice view, the fall colours, the sunset, for a chat with another motorcyclist parked... On a scooter (or any other bike) getting straight from A to B isn't important. Going fast isn't important. Time isn't importannt. As you put it rightly so: Time "well wasted".

David Masse said...

Sonja, that was quick! I am sitting here in Vancouver, waiting for Bob to pick me up for breakfast. Lots of fog blanketing parts of the city.

Stopping is good.

Coop a.k.a. Coopdway said...

Hope you two had a good breakfast......and thanks for the reminder that Destination can be half or less of the trip.

David Masse said...

Thanks Coop. Once Bob enters the picture, there's never a dull moment. We had a full day, a very full day.

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